Bioptic barcode readers

ABSTRACT

A bioptic barcode reader has a housing having a lower housing portion with an upper surface and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housing portion. A generally horizontal window is positioned at the upper surface, a generally upright window is positioned in the upper housing portion, and an imaging assembly having a primary field-of-view and a set of optical components are positioned within the interior region. The housing has a width greater than or equal to 5 inches and less than or equal to 7 inches, the lower housing portion has a height greater than or equal to 3 inches, the upper housing portion has a height greater than or equal to 4 inches and less than or equal to 6 inches, and the upper surface has a length greater than or equal to 6 inches and less than or equal to 8 inches.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

At least some embodiment of the present invention generally relate tobioptic barcode readers and, in particular, to compact barcode readers.

BACKGROUND

Bioptic barcode readers have traditionally been relatively expensive dueto their size and need of support for a scale. Therefore, there is aneed for compact, low cost bioptic barcode readers that can be used atvarious retail locations, such as self-checkout kiosks or other highthroughput retail type areas.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, the present invention is a bioptic barcode readerhaving a product scanning region, a housing having a lower housingportion with an upper surface facing the product scanning region, anupper housing portion extending above the lower housing portion, and animaging assembly having a primary field-of-view. A generally horizontalwindow is positioned at the upper surface of the lower housing portionand is configured to allow a first light to pass between the productscanning region and an interior region of the housing and a generallyupright window is positioned in the upper housing portion and isconfigured to allow a second light to pass between the product scanningregion and the interior region of the housing. A set of opticalcomponents is positioned within the interior region of the housing andis configured to divide the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly. The housing has a width that is greater than or equal to 5inches and less than or equal to 7 inches, the lower housing portion hasa height that is greater than or equal to 3 inches, the upper housingportion has a height that is greater than or equal to 4 inches and lessthan or equal to 6 inches and the upper surface of the lower housingportion has a length between a proximal edge adjacent the upper housingportion to a distal edge, opposite the proximal edge, that is greaterthan or equal to 6 inches and less than or equal to 8 inches.

In another embodiment, the present invention is a bioptic barcode readerhaving a product scanning region, a housing having a lower housingportion with an upper surface facing the product scanning region, and anupper housing portion extending above the lower housing portion, theupper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upper portion and adistal edge opposite the proximal edge. An imaging assembly has aprimary field-of-view and includes a printed circuit board with a singleimage sensor. The printed circuit board is aligned generallyperpendicular to the upper surface and the printed circuit board and theimage sensor arranged to direct the primary field-of-view generallyparallel to the upper surface and towards the distal edge of the uppersurface. A decode module is communicatively coupled to the imagingassembly and is configured to decode a barcode captured in an image bythe imaging assembly. A generally horizontal window is positioned at theupper surface of the lower housing portion and is configured to allow afirst light to pass between the product scanning region and an interiorregion of the housing and a generally upright window positioned in theupper housing portion and is configured to allow a second light to passbetween the product scanning region and the interior region of thehousing. A mirror arrangement is positioned within the interior regionand includes a splitter mirror, a first mirror, and a second mirror. Thesplitter mirror is positioned directly in a first path of a firstportion of the primary field-of-view and is configured to split theprimary field-of-view along a horizontal axis and redirect the firstportion of the primary field-of-view from the first path to a secondpath towards the second mirror. The first mirror is positioned directlyin a third path of a second portion of the primary field-of-view and isconfigured to redirect the second portion through the generallyhorizontal window. The second mirror is positioned directly in thesecond path and is configured to redirect the first portion through thegenerally upright window. The bioptic barcode reader has no otherimaging assembly communicatively coupled to the decode module and usedto process images for decoding indicia.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is a bioptic barcodereader having a product scanning region, a housing having a lowerhousing portion with an upper surface facing the product scanningregion, and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housingportion, the upper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upperportion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge. An imagingassembly has a primary field-of-view and includes a printed circuitboard with a single image sensor. The printed circuit board is alignedgenerally perpendicular to the upper surface and the printed circuitboard and the image sensor arranged to direct the primary field-of-viewgenerally parallel to the upper surface and towards the distal edge ofthe upper surface. A decode module is communicatively coupled to theimaging assembly and is configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by the imaging assembly. A generally horizontal window ispositioned at the upper surface of the lower housing portion and isconfigured to allow a first light to pass between the product scanningregion and an interior region of the housing and a generally uprightwindow is positioned in the upper housing portion and is configured toallow a second light to pass between the product scanning region and theinterior region of the housing. A mirror arrangement is positionedwithin the interior region and includes a splitter mirror, a firstmirror, a second mirror, and a third mirror. The splitter mirror ispositioned directly in a first path of a first portion of the primaryfield-of-view and is configured to: split the primary field-of-viewalong a horizontal axis; split the first portion of the primaryfield-of-view into a first subfield and a second subfield; redirect thefirst subfield along a second path towards the second mirror; andredirect the second subfield along a third path towards the thirdmirror. The first mirror is positioned directly in a fourth path of asecond portion of the primary field-of-view and is configured toredirect the second portion through the generally horizontal window. Thesecond mirror is positioned directly in the second path and isconfigured to redirect the first subfield through the generally uprightwindow. The third mirror is positioned directly in the third path and isconfigured to redirect the second subfield through the generally uprightwindow. The bioptic barcode reader has no other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to the decode module and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia.

In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a biopticbarcode reader having a product scanning region, a housing having alower housing portion with an upper surface facing the product scanningregion, and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housingportion, the upper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upperportion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge. An imagingassembly has a primary field-of-view and includes a printed circuitboard with a single image sensor. The printed circuit board is alignedgenerally horizontal to the upper surface and the printed circuit boardand the image sensor arranged to direct the primary field-of-viewgenerally perpendicular to the upper surface and towards the upperhousing portion. A decode module is communicatively coupled to theimaging assembly and is configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by the imaging assembly. A generally horizontal window ispositioned at the upper surface of the lower housing portion and isconfigured to allow a first light to pass between the product scanningregion and an interior region of the housing and a generally uprightwindow is positioned in the upper housing portion and is configured toallow a second light to pass between the product scanning region and theinterior region of the housing. A mirror arrangement is positionedwithin the interior region and includes a splitter mirror, a firstmirror, and a second mirror. The splitter mirror is positioned directlyin a first path of a first portion of the primary field-of-view and isconfigured to split the primary field-of-view along a horizontal axisand redirect the first portion of the primary field-of-view from thefirst path to a second path towards the first mirror. The second mirroris positioned directly in a third path of a second portion of theprimary field-of-view and is configured to redirect the second portionthrough the generally upright window. The first mirror is positioneddirectly in the second path and is configured to redirect the firstportion through the generally horizontal window. The bioptic barcodereader has no other imaging assembly communicatively coupled to thedecode module and used to process images for decoding indicia.

In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a biopticbarcode reader having a product scanning region, a housing having alower housing portion with an upper surface facing the product scanningregion, and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housingportion, the upper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upperportion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge. An imagingassembly has a primary field-of-view and includes a printed circuitboard with a single image sensor. The printed circuit board is alignedgenerally horizontal to the upper surface and the printed circuit boardand the image sensor are arranged to direct the primary field-of-viewgenerally perpendicular to the upper surface and towards the upperhousing portion. A decode module is communicatively coupled to theimaging assembly and is configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by the imaging assembly. A generally horizontal window ispositioned at the upper surface of the lower housing portion and isconfigured to allow a first light to pass between the product scanningregion and an interior region of the housing and a generally uprightwindow is positioned in the upper housing portion and is configured toallow a second light to pass between the product scanning region and theinterior region of the housing. A mirror arrangement is positionedwithin the interior region and includes a splitter mirror, a firstmirror, a second mirror, and a third mirror. The splitter mirror ispositioned directly in a first path of a first portion of the primaryfield-of-view and is configured to: split the primary field-of-viewalong a horizontal axis; split the first portion of the primaryfield-of-view into a first subfield and a second subfield; redirect thefirst subfield along a second path towards the second mirror; andredirect the second subfield along a third path towards the thirdmirror. The first mirror is positioned directly in a fourth path of asecond portion of the primary field-of-view and is configured toredirect the second portion through the generally upright window. Thesecond mirror is positioned directly in the second path and isconfigured to redirect the first subfield through the generallyhorizontal window. The third mirror is positioned directly in the thirdpath and is configured to redirect the second subfield through thegenerally horizontal window. The bioptic barcode reader has no otherimaging assembly communicatively coupled to the decode module and usedto process images for decoding indicia.

In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a biopticbarcode reader having a product scanning region, a housing having alower housing portion with an upper surface facing the product scanningregion, and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housingportion, the upper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upperportion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge. An imagingassembly has a primary field-of-view and includes a printed circuitboard with a single image sensor. The printed circuit board is alignedgenerally perpendicular to the upper surface and the printed circuitboard and the image sensor arranged to direct the primary field-of-viewgenerally parallel to the proximal edge of the upper surface. A decodemodule is communicatively coupled to the imaging assembly and isconfigured to decode a barcode captured in an image by the imagingassembly. A generally horizontal window is positioned at the uppersurface of the lower housing portion and is configured to allow a firstlight to pass between the product scanning region and an interior regionof the housing and a generally upright window is positioned in the upperhousing portion and is configured to allow a second light to passbetween the product scanning region and the interior region of thehousing. A mirror arrangement is positioned within the interior regionand includes a splitter mirror, a first mirror, a second mirror, and athird mirror. The splitter mirror is positioned directly in a first pathof a first portion of the primary field-of-view and is configured tosplit the primary field-of-view along a vertical axis and redirect thefirst portion of the primary field-of-view from the first path to asecond path towards the third mirror. The first mirror is positioneddirectly in a third path of a second portion of the primaryfield-of-view and is configured to redirect the second portion from thethird path to a fourth path towards the second mirror. The second mirroris positioned directly in the fourth path and is configured to redirectthe second portion through the generally upright window. The thirdmirror is positioned directly in the second path and is configured toredirect the first portion through the generally horizontal window. Thebioptic barcode reader has no other imaging assembly communicativelycoupled to the decode module and used to process images for decodingindicia.

In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a biopticbarcode reader having a product scanning region, a housing having alower housing portion with an upper surface facing the product scanningregion, and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housingportion, the upper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upperportion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge. An imagingassembly has a primary field-of-view and includes a printed circuitboard with a single image sensor. The printed circuit board is alignedat an acute angle to the upper surface and the printed circuit board andthe image sensor arranged to direct the primary field-of-view at theacute angle to the upper surface and towards the upper housing portion.A decode module is communicatively coupled to the imaging assembly andconfigured to decode a barcode captured in an image by the imagingassembly. A generally horizontal window is positioned at the uppersurface of the lower housing portion and is configured to allow a firstlight to pass between the product scanning region and an interior regionof the housing and a generally upright window is positioned in the upperhousing portion and is configured to allow a second light to passbetween the product scanning region and the interior region of thehousing. A mirror arrangement is positioned within the interior regionand includes a splitter mirror, a first mirror, and a second mirror. Thesplitter mirror is positioned directly in a first path of a firstportion of the primary field-of-view and is configured to split theprimary field-of-view along a horizontal axis and redirect the firstportion of the primary field-of-view from the first path to a secondpath towards the first mirror. The second mirror is positioned directlyin a third path of a second portion of the primary field-of-view and isconfigured to redirect the second portion through the generally uprightwindow. The first mirror is positioned directly in the second path andis configured to redirect the first portion through the generallyhorizontal window. The bioptic barcode reader has no other imagingassembly communicatively coupled to the decode module and used toprocess images for decoding indicia.

In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a biopticbarcode reader having a product scanning region, a housing having alower housing portion with an upper surface facing the product scanningregion, and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housingportion, the upper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upperportion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge. An imagingassembly has a primary field-of-view and includes a printed circuitboard with a single image sensor. The printed circuit board is alignedat an acute angle to the upper surface and the printed circuit board andthe image sensor arranged to direct the primary field-of-view at theacute angle to the upper surface and towards the upper housing portion.A decode module is communicatively coupled to the imaging assembly andis configured to decode a barcode captured in an image by the imagingassembly. A generally horizontal window positioned at the upper surfaceof the lower housing portion and is configured to allow a first light topass between the product scanning region and an interior region of thehousing and a generally upright window is positioned in the upperhousing portion and is configured to allow a second light to passbetween the product scanning region and the interior region of thehousing. A mirror arrangement is positioned within the interior regionand includes a splitter mirror, a first mirror, a second mirror, and athird mirror. The splitter mirror is positioned directly in a first pathof a first portion of the primary field-of-view and is configured to:split the primary field-of-view along a horizontal axis; split the firstportion of the primary field-of-view into a first subfield and a secondsubfield; redirect the first subfield along a second path towards thesecond mirror; and redirect the second subfield along a third pathtowards the third mirror. The first mirror is positioned directly in afourth path of a second portion of the primary field-of-view and isconfigured to redirect the second portion through the generally uprightwindow. The second mirror is positioned directly in the second path andis configured to redirect the first subfield through the generallyhorizontal window. The third mirror is positioned directly in the thirdpath and is configured to redirect the second subfield through thegenerally horizontal window. The bioptic barcode reader has no otherimaging assembly communicatively coupled to the decode module and usedto process images for decoding indicia.

In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a biopticbarcode reader having a product scanning region, a housing having alower housing portion with an upper surface facing the product scanningregion, and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housingportion, the upper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upperportion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge. An imagingassembly has a primary field-of-view and includes a printed circuitboard with a single image sensor. A decode module is communicativelycoupled to the imaging assembly and is configured to decode a barcodecaptured in an image by the imaging assembly. A first window isconfigured to allow a first light to pass between the product scanningregion and an interior region of the housing and a second window isconfigured to allow a second light to pass between the product scanningregion and the interior region of the housing. A mirror arrangement ispositioned within the interior region and includes a splitter mirror, afirst mirror, a second mirror, and a third mirror. The splitter mirroris a concave splitter mirror having two planar reflective surfaces, ispositioned directly in a first path of a first portion of the primaryfield-of-view, and is configured to: split the primary field-of-viewalong a horizontal axis; split the first portion of the primaryfield-of-view into a first subfield and a second subfield; redirect thefirst subfield along a second path towards the second mirror; andredirect the second subfield along a third path towards the third mirrorsuch that the second path and the third path cross. The first mirror ispositioned directly in a fourth path of a second portion of the primaryfield-of-view and is configured to redirect the second portion. Thesecond mirror is positioned directly in the second path and isconfigured to redirect the first subfield. The third mirror ispositioned directly in the third path and is configured to redirect thesecond subfield. The bioptic barcode reader has no other imagingassembly communicatively coupled to the decode module and used toprocess images for decoding indicia.

In still yet another embodiment, the present invention is a biopticbarcode reader having a product scanning region, a housing having alower housing portion with an upper surface facing the product scanningregion, and an upper housing portion extending above the lower housingportion, the upper surface having a proximal edge adjacent the upperportion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge. A generallyhorizontal window is positioned at the upper surface of the lowerhousing portion and is configured to allow a first light to pass betweenthe product scanning region and an interior region of the housing and agenerally upright window is positioned in the upper housing portion andis configured to allow a second light to pass between the productscanning region and the interior region of the housing. The generallyhorizontal window has a width measured parallel to the proximal edge ofthe upper surface and a length measured perpendicular to the proximaledge and the width of the generally horizontal window is greater thanthe length.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separateviews, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated inand form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrateembodiments of concepts that include the claimed examples, and explainvarious principles and advantages of those embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a side perspective view of an example bioptic barcodereader;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cutaway view of the example barcode reader of FIG.1 with a first example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 3A is a side perspective view of the example bioptic barcode readerof FIG. 2 showing the first example imaging assembly and set of opticalcomponents;

FIG. 3B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 3Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 4A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with asecond example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 4B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 4Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 5A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with athird example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 5B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 5Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 6A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with afourth example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 6B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 6Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 7A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with afifth example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 7B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 7Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 8A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with asixth example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 8B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 8Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 9A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with aseventh example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 9B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 9Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 10A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 withan eighth example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 10B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 10Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 11A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with aninth example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 11B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 11Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 12A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with atenth example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 12B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 12Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 13A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 withan eleventh example imaging assembly and set of optical components;

FIG. 13B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 13Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly;

FIG. 14A illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 1 with atwelfth example imaging assembly and set of optical components; and

FIG. 14B illustrates the example bioptic barcode reader of FIG. 14Ashowing the various paths of the primary field-of-view of the imagingassembly.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

The apparatus and method components have been represented whereappropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only thosespecific details that are pertinent to understanding the disclosedexamples so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will bereadily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The examples disclosed herein relate to bioptic barcode readers that arecompact and are smaller and less expensive to manufacture thantraditional bioptic barcode readers. The example bioptic barcode readersdisclosed herein do not have a scale, which is one factor in allowingthem to be smaller than traditional bioptic barcode readers and stillhave excellent performance. The examples also use a single image sensor,for example a 2.3 megapixel image sensor (monochrome or color), with aprimary field-of-view that is split and directed through the horizontalwindow of the bioptic barcode scanner and the upright window usingminimal mirrors, which also allows the bioptic barcode readers disclosedherein to be made smaller.

Referring to FIG. 1, an example bioptic barcode reader 10 is shown thatcan be configured to be supported by a workstation, such as a checkoutcounter at a POS of a retail store, and has a product scanning region15. Barcode reader 10 has a housing 20 that includes a lower housingportion 30 with an upper surface 35 that faces product scanning region15 and an upper housing portion 45 that extends above lower housingportion 30. Upper surface 35 has a proximal edge 55 that is adjacentupper housing portion 45 and a distal edge 60 that is generally parallelto and opposite proximal edge 55. In the example shown, housing 20preferably has a width W1 that is greater than or equal to 5 inches andless than or equal to 7 inches, lower housing portion 30 preferably hasa height H1 that is greater than or equal to 3 inches, upper housingportion 45 preferably has a height H2 that is greater than or equal to 4inches and less than or equal to 6 inches, and upper surface 35 has alength L1 between proximal edge 55 and distal edge 60 that is greaterthan or equal to 6 inches and less than or equal to 8 inches.

A generally horizontal window 40 is positioned at upper surface 35 oflower housing portion 30 and is configured to allow a first light topass between product scanning region 15 and an interior region 25 ofhousing 20 and a generally upright window 50 is positioned in upperhousing portion 45 and is configured to allow a second light to passbetween product scanning region 15 and interior region 25 of housing 20.The first and second lights intersect to define product scanning region15 of barcode reader 10 where a product can be scanned for sale at thePOS. In the example shown, generally upright window 50 preferably has aheight H3 that is greater than or equal to 3½ inches and less than orequal to 6 inches and a width W2 that is greater than or equal to 4inches and less than or equal to 7 inches and generally horizontalwindow 40 has a width W3 that is greater than or equal to 3½ inches andless than or equal to 6 inches with upper surface 35 having a width W1the same as housing 20, greater than or equal to 5 inches and less thanor equal to 7 inches, and a length L2 that is greater than or equal to3½ inches and less than or equal to 6 inches. In one particular example,generally horizontal window 40 can have a width W3 of 4 inches and alength L2 of 4 to 4½ inches (rather than the standard 6 inch length),which can make horizontal window 40 smaller and much less expensive ifmade of standard sapphire glass.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with a first example imaging assembly 100 and a firstexample set of optical components 200 positioned within interior region25 of housing 20 and a decode module 300 communicatively coupled toimaging assembly 100 and configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by imaging assembly 100. Imaging assembly 100 includes a printedcircuit board 105 with a single image sensor 110 and has a primaryfield-of-view 115. Printed circuit board 105 is aligned generallyperpendicular to upper surface 35 and printed circuit board 105 andimage sensor 110 are arranged to direct primary field-of-view 115generally parallel to upper surface 35 and towards distal edge 60 ofupper surface 35. In this example, bioptic barcode reader 10 does nothave any other imaging assembly communicatively coupled to decode module300 and used to process images for decoding indicia, other than imagingassembly 100, which reduces the number of components and allows biopticbarcode reader 10 to be smaller and be manufactured less expensivelythan traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Optical components 200 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115 and include a mirror arrangement 205 with a splitter mirror 210, afirst mirror 215, and a second mirror 220. Splitter mirror 210 ispositioned directly in a first path P1 of a first portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 and is configured to split primary field-of-view 115along a horizontal axis and redirect the first portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 from first path P1 to a second path P2 towards secondmirror 220. Splitter mirror 210 can be positioned to split primaryfield-of-view 115 in any proportion desired. For example, primaryfield-of-view can be split such that the first and second portions ofprimary field-of-view 115 are equal, the first portion is 0-25% largerthan the second portion, or the second portion is 0-25% larger than thefirst portion, depending on the configuration and desired use of biopticbarcode reader 10. Second mirror 220 is positioned directly in secondpath P2 and is configured to redirect the first portion redirected fromsplitter mirror 210 through generally upright window 50. The firstportion of primary-field-of view 115 that is redirected from secondmirror 220 through generally upright window 50 can fill 50-100% ofgenerally upright window 50 and, preferably, an area of the firstportion of primary field-of-view 115 redirected through generallyupright window 50, taken along a plane of generally upright window 50,is greater than an area of generally upright window 50 such thatgenerally upright window 50 crops or reduces the first portion ofprimary field-of-view 115 and allows only a portion of the first portionto pass through. First mirror 215 is positioned directly in a third pathP3 of a second portion of primary field-of-view 115 and is configured toredirect the second portion through generally horizontal window 40. Thesecond portion of primary field-of-view 115 that is redirected fromfirst mirror 215 through generally horizontal window 40 can fill 50-100%of generally horizontal window 40 and, preferably, an area of the secondportion of primary field-of-view 115 redirected through generallyhorizontal window 40, taken along a plane of generally horizontal window40, is greater than an area of generally horizontal window 40 such thatgenerally horizontal window 40 crops or reduces the second portion ofprimary field-of-view 115 and allows only a portion of the secondportion to pass through. For example, width W3 of generally horizontalwindow 40 could be greater than length L2 of generally horizontal window40 such that a width of the second portion of primary field-of-view 115allowed to pass through generally horizontal window 40 is greater than alength of the second portion of primary field-of-view 115 allowed topass through generally horizontal window 40. In this example, mirrorarrangement 205 does not have any other mirrors, other than splittermirror 210, first mirror 215, and second mirror 220, which also reducesthe number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to besmaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditional biopticbarcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with first example imaging assembly 100 described above anda second example set of optical components 400 positioned withininterior region 25 of housing 20 and decode module 300 communicativelycoupled to imaging assembly 100 and configured to decode a barcodecaptured in an image by imaging assembly 100. In this example, biopticbarcode reader 10 again does not have any other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to decode module 300 and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly 100, which reduces thenumber of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smallerand be manufactured less expensively than traditional bioptic barcodereaders.

Optical components 400 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115 and include a mirror arrangement 405 with a splitter mirror 410, afirst mirror 415, a second mirror 420, and a third mirror 425. Splittermirror 410 is positioned directly in a first path P4 of a first portionof primary field-of-view 115 and is configured to split primaryfield-of-view 115 along a horizontal axis, split the first portion ofprimary field-of-view into a first subfield 430 and a second subfield435, redirect first subfield 430 from first path P4 to a second path P5towards second mirror 420, and redirect second subfield 435 from firstpath P4 to a third path P6 towards third mirror 425. In this example,splitter mirror 410 is a concave splitter mirror having first and secondplanar mirrors 412A, 412B that are arranged such that second path P5from first planar mirror 412A and third path P6 from second planarmirror 412B cross. Having splitter mirror 410 in a concave configurationincreases the internal path length between image sensor 110 andgenerally upright window 50, which allows for better barcode readingrange and minimizes field-of-view twist, which enables more usablefield-of-view through generally upright window 50. Splitter mirror 410can be positioned to split primary field-of-view 115 in any proportiondesired. For example, primary field-of-view can be split such that thefirst and second portions of primary field-of-view 115 are equal, thefirst portion is 0-25% larger than the second portion, or the secondportion is 0-25% larger than the first portion, depending on theconfiguration and desired use of bioptic barcode reader 10.

Second mirror 420 is positioned directly in second path P5 and isconfigured to redirect first subfield 430 redirected from splittermirror 410 through generally upright window 50 and third mirror 425 ispositioned direct in third path P6 and is configured to redirect secondsubfield 435 redirected from splitter mirror 410 through generallyupright window 50. First subfield 430 redirected from second mirror 420through generally upright window 50 and second subfield 435 redirectedfrom third mirror 425 through generally upright window 50 together canfill 50-100% of generally upright window 50. First mirror 415 ispositioned directly in a fourth path P7 of a second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 and is configured to redirect the second portionthrough generally horizontal window 40. The second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 that is redirected from first mirror 415 throughgenerally horizontal window 40 can fill 50-100% of generally horizontalwindow 40 and, preferably, an area of the second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 redirected through generally horizontal window 40,taken along a plane of generally horizontal window 40, is greater thanan area of generally horizontal window 40 such that generally horizontalwindow 40 crops or reduces the second portion of primary field-of-view115 and allows only a portion of the second portion to pass through. Forexample, width W3 of generally horizontal window 40 could be greaterthan length L2 of generally horizontal window 40 such that a width ofthe second portion of primary field-of-view 115 allowed to pass throughgenerally horizontal window 40 is greater than a length of the secondportion of primary field-of-view 115 allowed to pass through generallyhorizontal window 40. In this example, mirror arrangement 405 does nothave any other mirrors, other than splitter mirror 410, first mirror415, second mirror 420, and third mirror 425, which also reduces thenumber of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smallerand be manufactured less expensively than traditional bioptic barcodereaders.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with first example imaging assembly 100 described above anda third example set of optical components 500 positioned within interiorregion 25 of housing 20 and decode module 300 communicatively coupled toimaging assembly 100 and configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by imaging assembly 100. In this example, bioptic barcode reader10 again does not have any other imaging assembly communicativelycoupled to decode module 300 and used to process images for decodingindicia, other than imaging assembly 100, which reduces the number ofcomponents and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and bemanufactured less expensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Optical components 500 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115 and include a mirror arrangement 505 with a splitter mirror 510, afirst mirror 515, a second mirror 520, and a third mirror 525. Splittermirror 510 is positioned directly in a first path P8 of a first portionof primary field-of-view 115 and is configured to split primaryfield-of-view 115 along a horizontal axis, split the first portion ofprimary field-of-view into a first subfield 530 and a second subfield535, redirect first subfield 530 from first path P8 to a second path P9towards second mirror 520, and redirect second subfield 535 from firstpath P8 to a third path P10 towards third mirror 525. In this example,splitter mirror 510 is a convex splitter mirror having first and secondplanar mirrors 512A, 512B that are arranged such that second path P9from first planar mirror 512A and third path P10 from second planarmirror 512B diverge. Splitter mirror 510 can be positioned to splitprimary field-of-view 115 in any proportion desired. For example,primary field-of-view can be split such that the first and secondportions of primary field-of-view 115 are equal, the first portion is0-25% larger than the second portion, or the second portion is 0-25%larger than the first portion, depending on the configuration anddesired use of bioptic barcode reader 10.

Second mirror 520 is positioned directly in second path P9 and isconfigured to redirect first subfield 530 redirected from splittermirror 510 through generally upright window 50 and third mirror 525 ispositioned direct in third path P10 and is configured to redirect secondsubfield 535 redirected from splitter mirror 510 through generallyupright window 50. First subfield 530 redirected from second mirror 520through generally upright window 50 and second subfield 535 redirectedfrom third mirror 525 through generally upright window 50 together canfill 50-100% of generally upright window 50. First mirror 515 ispositioned directly in a fourth path P11 of a second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 and is configured to redirect the second portionthrough generally horizontal window 40. The second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 that is redirected from first mirror 515 throughgenerally horizontal window 40 can fill 50-100% of generally horizontalwindow 40 and, preferably, an area of the second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 redirected through generally horizontal window 40,taken along a plane of generally horizontal window 40, is greater thanan area of generally horizontal window 40 such that generally horizontalwindow 40 crops or reduces the second portion of primary field-of-view115 and allows only a portion of the second portion to pass through. Forexample, width W3 of generally horizontal window 40 could be greaterthan length L2 of generally horizontal window 40 such that a width ofthe second portion of primary field-of-view 115 allowed to pass throughgenerally horizontal window 40 is greater than a length of the secondportion of primary field-of-view 115 allowed to pass through generallyhorizontal window 40. In this example, mirror arrangement 505 does nothave any other mirrors, other than splitter mirror 510, first mirror515, second mirror 520, and third mirror 525, which also reduces thenumber of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smallerand be manufactured less expensively than traditional bioptic barcodereaders.

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with first example imaging assembly 100 described above anda fourth example set of optical components 600 positioned withininterior region 25 of housing 20 and decode module 300 communicativelycoupled to imaging assembly 100 and configured to decode a barcodecaptured in an image by imaging assembly 100. In this example, biopticbarcode reader 10 again does not have any other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to decode module 300 and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly 100, which reduces thenumber of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smallerand be manufactured less expensively than traditional bioptic barcodereaders.

Optical components 600 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115 and include a mirror arrangement 605 with a splitter mirror 610, afirst mirror 615, a second mirror 620, and a third mirror 625. Splittermirror 610 is positioned directly in a first path P12 of a first portionof primary field-of-view 115 and is configured to split primaryfield-of-view 115 along a horizontal axis, split the first portion ofprimary field-of-view into a first subfield 630 and a second subfield635, redirect first subfield 630 from first path P12 to a second pathP13 towards second mirror 620, and redirect second subfield 635 fromfirst path P12 to a third path P14 towards third mirror 625. In thisexample, splitter mirror 610 is a concave splitter mirror having firstand second planar mirrors 612A, 612B that are arranged such that secondpath P13 from first planar mirror 612A and third path P14 from secondplanar mirror 612B cross. Having splitter mirror 610 in a concaveconfiguration increases the internal path length between image sensor110 and generally upright window 50, which allows for better barcodereading range and minimizes field-of-view twist, which enables moreusable field-of-view through generally upright window 50. Splittermirror 610 can be positioned to split primary field-of-view 115 in anyproportion desired. For example, primary field-of-view can be split suchthat the first and second portions of primary field-of-view 115 areequal, the first portion is 0-25% larger than the second portion, or thesecond portion is 0-25% larger than the first portion, depending on theconfiguration and desired use of bioptic barcode reader 10.

Second mirror 620 is positioned directly in second path P13 and isconfigured to redirect first subfield 630 redirected from splittermirror 610 through generally upright window 50 and third mirror 625 ispositioned direct in third path P14 and is configured to redirect secondsubfield 635 redirected from splitter mirror 610 through generallyupright window 50. First subfield 630 redirected from second mirror 620through generally upright window 50 and second subfield 635 redirectedfrom third mirror 625 through generally upright window 50 together canfill 50-100% of generally upright window 50. First mirror 615 ispositioned directly in a fourth path P15 of a second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 and is configured to redirect the second portionthrough generally horizontal window 40. In this example, first mirror615 is a concave splitter mirror and is configured to split the secondportion of primary field-of-view 115 into a third subfield 640 and afourth subfield 645, redirect third subfield 640 through generallyhorizontal window 40, and redirect fourth subfield 645 through generallyhorizontal window 40. Third subfield 640 and fourth subfield 645together can fill 50-100% of generally horizontal window 40. In thisexample, mirror arrangement 605 does not have any other mirrors, otherthan splitter mirror 610, first mirror 615, second mirror 620, and thirdmirror 625, which also reduces the number of components and allowsbioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and be manufactured lessexpensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with first example imaging assembly 100 described above anda fifth example set of optical components 700 positioned within interiorregion 25 of housing 20 and decode module 300 communicatively coupled toimaging assembly 100 and configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by imaging assembly 100. In this example, bioptic barcode reader10 again does not have any other imaging assembly communicativelycoupled to decode module 300 and used to process images for decodingindicia, other than imaging assembly 100, which reduces the number ofcomponents and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and bemanufactured less expensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Optical components 700 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115 and include a mirror arrangement 705 with a splitter mirror 710, afirst mirror 715, a second mirror 720, and a third mirror 725. Splittermirror 710 is positioned directly in a first path P16 of a first portionof primary field-of-view 115 and is configured to split primaryfield-of-view 115 along a horizontal axis, split the first portion ofprimary field-of-view into a first subfield 730 and a second subfield735, redirect first subfield 730 from first path P16 to a second pathP17 towards second mirror 720, and redirect second subfield 735 fromfirst path P16 to a third path P18 towards third mirror 725. In thisexample, splitter mirror 710 is a convex splitter mirror having firstand second planar mirrors 712A, 712B that are arranged such that secondpath P17 from first planar mirror 712A and third path P18 from secondplanar mirror 712B diverge. Splitter mirror 710 can be positioned tosplit primary field-of-view 115 in any proportion desired. For example,primary field-of-view can be split such that the first and secondportions of primary field-of-view 115 are equal, the first portion is0-25% larger than the second portion, or the second portion is 0-25%larger than the first portion, depending on the configuration anddesired use of bioptic barcode reader 10.

Second mirror 720 is positioned directly in second path P17 and isconfigured to redirect first subfield 730 redirected from splittermirror 710 through generally upright window 50 and third mirror 725 ispositioned direct in third path P18 and is configured to redirect secondsubfield 735 redirected from splitter mirror 710 through generallyupright window 50. First subfield 730 redirected from second mirror 720through generally upright window 50 and second subfield 735 redirectedfrom third mirror 725 through generally upright window 50 together canfill 50-100% of generally upright window 50. First mirror 715 ispositioned directly in a fourth path P19 of a second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115 and is configured to redirect the second portionthrough generally horizontal window 40. In this example, first mirror715 is a concave splitter mirror and is configured to split the secondportion of primary field-of-view 115 into a third subfield 740 and afourth subfield 745, redirect third subfield 740 through generallyhorizontal window 40, and redirect fourth subfield 745 through generallyhorizontal window 40. Third subfield 740 and fourth subfield 745together can fill 50-100% of generally horizontal window 40. In thisexample, mirror arrangement 705 does not have any other mirrors, otherthan splitter mirror 710, first mirror 715, second mirror 720, and thirdmirror 725, which also reduces the number of components and allowsbioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and be manufactured lessexpensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with a second example imaging assembly 100A and a sixthexample set of optical components 800 positioned within interior region25 of housing 20 and a decode module 300 communicatively coupled toimaging assembly 100A and configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by imaging assembly 100A. Imaging assembly 100A includes a printedcircuit board 105A with a single image sensor 110A and has a primaryfield-of-view 115A. Printed circuit board 105A is aligned generallyhorizontal to upper surface 35 and printed circuit board 105A and imagesensor 110A are arranged to direct primary field-of-view 115A generallyperpendicular to upper surface 35 and towards upper housing portion 45.In this example, bioptic barcode reader 10 does not have any otherimaging assembly communicatively coupled to decode module 300 and usedto process images for decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly100A, which reduces the number of components and allows bioptic barcodereader 10 to be smaller and be manufactured less expensively thantraditional bioptic barcode readers.

Optical components 800 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115A and include a mirror arrangement 805 with a splitter mirror 810, afirst mirror 815, and a second mirror 820. Splitter mirror 810 ispositioned directly in a first path P20 of a first portion of primaryfield-of-view 115A and is configured to split primary field-of-view 115Aalong a horizontal axis and redirect the first portion of primaryfield-of-view 115A from first path P20 to a second path P21 towardsfirst mirror 815. Splitter mirror 810 can be positioned to split primaryfield-of-view 115A in any proportion desired. For example, primaryfield-of-view can be split such that the first and second portions ofprimary field-of-view 115A are equal, the first portion is 0-25% largerthan the second portion, or the second portion is 0-25% larger than thefirst portion, depending on the configuration and desired use of biopticbarcode reader 10. Second mirror 820 is positioned directly in a thirdpath P22 of the second portion of primary field-of-view 115A and isconfigured to redirect the second portion through generally uprightwindow 50. The second portion of primary field-of-view 115A that isredirected from second mirror 820 through generally upright window 50can fill 50-100% of generally upright window 50 and, preferably, an areaof the second portion of primary field-of-view 115A redirected throughgenerally upright window 50, taken along a plane of generally uprightwindow 50, is greater than an area of generally upright window 50 suchthat generally upright window 50 crops or reduces the second portion ofprimary field-of-view 115A and allows only a portion of the secondportion to pass through. First mirror 815 is positioned directly in asecond path P21 of a first portion of primary field-of-view 115A and isconfigured to redirect the first portion through generally horizontalwindow 40. The first portion of primary field-of-view 115A that isredirected from first mirror 815 through generally horizontal window 40can fill 50-100% of generally horizontal window 40 and, preferably, anarea of the first portion of primary field-of-view 115A redirectedthrough generally horizontal window 40, taken along a plane of generallyhorizontal window 40, is greater than an area of generally horizontalwindow 40 such that generally horizontal window 40 crops or reduces thefirst portion of primary field-of-view 115A and allows only a portion ofthe first portion to pass through. For example, width W3 of generallyhorizontal window 40 could be greater than length L2 of generallyhorizontal window 40 such that a width of the first portion of primaryfield-of-view 115A allowed to pass through generally horizontal window40 is greater than a length of the first portion of primaryfield-of-view 115A allowed to pass through generally horizontal window40. In this example, mirror arrangement 805 does not have any othermirrors, other than splitter mirror 810, first mirror 815, and secondmirror 820, which also reduces the number of components and allowsbioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and be manufactured lessexpensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with second example imaging assembly 100A described aboveand a seventh example set of optical components 900 positioned withininterior region 25 of housing 20 and decode module 300 communicativelycoupled to imaging assembly 100A and configured to decode a barcodecaptured in an image by imaging assembly 100A. In this example, biopticbarcode reader 10 again does not have any other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to decode module 300 and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly 100A, which reducesthe number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to besmaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditional biopticbarcode readers.

Optical components 900 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115A and include a mirror arrangement 905 with a splitter mirror 910, afirst mirror 915, a second mirror 920, and a third mirror 925. Splittermirror 910 is positioned directly in a first path P23 of a first portionof primary field-of-view 115A and is configured to split primaryfield-of-view 115A along a horizontal axis, split the first portion ofprimary field-of-view 115A into a first subfield 930 and a secondsubfield 935, redirect first subfield 930 from first path P23 to asecond path P24 towards second mirror 920, and redirect second subfield935 from first path P23 to a third path P25 towards third mirror 925. Inthis example, splitter mirror 910 is a concave splitter mirror havingfirst and second planar mirrors 912A, 912B that are arranged such thatsecond path P24 from first planar mirror 912A and third path P25 fromsecond planar mirror 912B cross. Having splitter mirror 910 in a concaveconfiguration increases the internal path length between image sensor110A and generally horizontal window 40, which allows for better barcodereading range and minimizes field-of-view twist, which enables moreusable field-of-view through generally horizontal window 40.Alternatively, splitter mirror 910 could be a convex splitter mirrorthat is arranged such that second path P24 from first planar mirror 912Aand third path P25 from second planar mirror 912B diverge. Splittermirror 910 can be positioned to split primary field-of-view 115A in anyproportion desired. For example, primary field-of-view 115A can be splitsuch that the first and second portions of primary field-of-view 115Aare equal, the first portion is 0-25% larger than the second portion, orthe second portion is 0-25% larger than the first portion, depending onthe configuration and desired use of bioptic barcode reader 10.

Second mirror 920 is positioned directly in second path P24 and isconfigured to redirect first subfield 930 redirected from splittermirror 910 through generally horizontal window 40 and third mirror 925is positioned direct in third path P25 and is configured to redirectsecond subfield 935 redirected from splitter mirror 910 throughgenerally horizontal window 40. First subfield 930 redirected fromsecond mirror 920 through generally horizontal window 40 and secondsubfield 935 redirected from third mirror 925 through generallyhorizontal window 40 together can fill 50-100% of generally horizontalwindow 40. First mirror 915 is positioned directly in a fourth path P26of a second portion of primary field-of-view 115A and is configured toredirect the second portion through generally upright window 50. Thesecond portion of primary field-of-view 115A that is redirected fromfirst mirror 915 through generally upright window 50 can fill 50-100% ofgenerally upright window 50 and, preferably, an area of the secondportion of primary field-of-view 115A redirected through generallyupright window 50, taken along a plane of generally upright window 50,is greater than an area of generally upright window 50 such thatgenerally upright window 50 crops or reduces the second portion ofprimary field-of-view 115A and allows only a portion of the secondportion to pass through. For example, width W2 of generally uprightwindow 50 could be greater than length/height H3 of generally uprightwindow 50 such that a width of the second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115A allowed to pass through generally upright window 50is greater than a length of the second portion of primary field-of-view115A allowed to pass through generally upright window 50. In thisexample, mirror arrangement 905 does not have any other mirrors, otherthan splitter mirror 910, first mirror 915, second mirror 920, and thirdmirror 925, which also reduces the number of components and allowsbioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and be manufactured lessexpensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 10A and 10B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with second example imaging assembly 100A described aboveand an eighth example set of optical components 1000 positioned withininterior region 25 of housing 20 and decode module 300 communicativelycoupled to imaging assembly 100A and configured to decode a barcodecaptured in an image by imaging assembly 100A. In this example, biopticbarcode reader 10 again does not have any other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to decode module 300 and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly 100A, which reducesthe number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to besmaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditional biopticbarcode readers.

Optical components 1000 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115A and include a mirror arrangement 1005 with a splitter mirror 1010,a first mirror 1015, a second mirror 1020, and a third mirror 1025.Splitter mirror 1010 is positioned directly in a first path P27 of afirst portion of primary field-of-view 115A and is configured to splitprimary field-of-view 115A along a horizontal axis, split the firstportion of primary field-of-view 115A into a first subfield 1030 and asecond subfield 1035, redirect first subfield 1030 from first path P27to a second path P28 towards second mirror 1020, and redirect secondsubfield 1035 from first path P27 to a third path P29 towards thirdmirror 1025. In this example, splitter mirror 1010 is a concave splittermirror having first and second planar mirrors 1012A, 1012B that arearranged such that second path P28 from first planar mirror 1012A andthird path P29 from second planar mirror 1012B cross. Having splittermirror 1010 in a concave configuration increases the internal pathlength between image sensor 110A and generally horizontal window 40,which allows for better barcode reading range and minimizesfield-of-view twist, which enables more usable field-of-view throughgenerally horizontal window 40. Alternatively, splitter mirror 1010could be a convex splitter mirror that is arranged such that second pathP28 from first planar mirror 1012A and third path P29 from second planarmirror 1012B diverge. Splitter mirror 1010 can be positioned to splitprimary field-of-view 115A in any proportion desired. For example,primary field-of-view 115A can be split such that the first and secondportions of primary field-of-view 115A are equal, the first portion is0-25% larger than the second portion, or the second portion is 0-25%larger than the first portion, depending on the configuration anddesired use of bioptic barcode reader 10.

Second mirror 1020 is positioned directly in second path P28 and isconfigured to redirect first subfield 1030 redirected from splittermirror 1010 through generally horizontal window 40 and third mirror 1025is positioned direct in third path P29 and is configured to redirectsecond subfield 1035 redirected from splitter mirror 1010 throughgenerally horizontal window 40. First subfield 1030 redirected fromsecond mirror 1020 through generally horizontal window 40 and secondsubfield 1035 redirected from third mirror 1025 through generallyhorizontal window 40 together can fill 50-100% of generally horizontalwindow 40. First mirror 1015 is positioned directly in a fourth path P30of a second portion of primary field-of-view 115A and is configured toredirect the second portion through generally upright window 50. In thisexample, first mirror 1015 is a concave splitter mirror and isconfigured to split the second portion of primary field-of-view 115Ainto a third subfield 1040 and a fourth subfield 1045, redirect thirdsubfield 1040 through generally upright window 50, and redirect fourthsubfield 1045 through generally upright window 50. Third subfield 1040and fourth subfield 1045 together can fill 50-100% of generally uprightwindow 50. In this example, mirror arrangement 1005 does not have anyother mirrors, other than splitter mirror 1010, first mirror 1015,second mirror 1020, and third mirror 1025, which also reduces the numberof components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and bemanufactured less expensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 11A and 11B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with a third example imaging assembly 100B and a ninthexample set of optical components 1100 positioned within interior region25 of housing 20 and a decode module 300 communicatively coupled toimaging assembly 100B and configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by imaging assembly 100B. Imaging assembly 100B includes a printedcircuit board 105B with a single image sensor 110B and has a primaryfield-of-view 115B. Printed circuit board 105 is aligned generallyperpendicular to upper surface 35 and printed circuit board 105B andimage sensor 110B are arranged to direct primary field-of-view 115Bgenerally parallel to proximal edge 55 of upper surface 35. Orientationof printed circuit board 105B and imaging sensor 110B in this mannersplits primary field-of-view 115B in such a manner as to orient the longaxis of both portions to the long axis of their respective windows. Inthis example, bioptic barcode reader 10 does not have any other imagingassembly communicatively coupled to decode module 300 and used toprocess images for decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly 100B,which reduces the number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader10 to be smaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditionalbioptic barcode readers.

Optical components 1100 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115B and include a mirror arrangement 1105 with a splitter mirror 1110,a first mirror 1115, a second mirror 1120, and a third mirror 1125.Splitter mirror 1110 is positioned directly in a first path P31 of afirst portion of primary field-of-view 115B and is configured to splitprimary field-of-view 115B along a vertical axis and redirect the firstportion of primary field-of-view 115B from first path P31 to a secondpath P32 towards third mirror 1125. Splitter mirror 1110 can bepositioned to split primary field-of-view 115B in any proportiondesired. For example, primary field-of-view 115B can be split such thatthe first and second portions of primary field-of-view 115B are equal,the first portion is 0-25% larger than the second portion, or the secondportion is 0-25% larger than the first portion, depending on theconfiguration and desired use of bioptic barcode reader 10. Third mirror1125 is positioned directly in second path P32 and is configured toredirect the first portion redirected from splitter mirror 1110 throughgenerally horizontal window 40. The first portion of primary-field-ofview 115B that is redirected from third mirror 1125 through generallyhorizontal window 40 can fill 50-100% of generally horizontal window 40and, preferably, an area of the first portion of primary field-of-view115B redirected through generally horizontal window 40, taken along aplane of generally horizontal window 40, is greater than an area ofgenerally horizontal window 40 such that generally horizontal window 40crops or reduces the first portion of primary field-of-view 115B andallows only a portion of the first portion to pass through. For example,length L2 of generally horizontal window 40 could be greater than widthW3 of generally horizontal window 40 such that a length of the firstportion of primary field-of-view 115B allowed to pass through generallyhorizontal window 40 is greater than a width of the first portion ofprimary field-of-view 115B allowed to pass through generally horizontalwindow 40. First mirror 1115 is positioned directly in a third path P33of the second portion of primary field-of-view 115B and is configured toredirect the second portion of primary field-of-view 115B from thirdpath P33 to a fourth path P34 and towards second mirror 1120. Secondmirror 1120 is positioned directly in fourth path P34 and is configuredto redirect the second portion through generally upright window 50. Thesecond portion of primary field-of-view 115B that is redirected fromsecond mirror 1120 through generally upright window 50 can fill 50-100%of generally upright window 50 and, preferably, an area of the secondportion of primary field-of-view 115B redirected through generallyupright window 50, taken along a plane of generally upright window 50,is greater than an area of generally upright window 50 such thatgenerally upright window 50 crops or reduces the second portion ofprimary field-of-view 115B and allows only a portion of the secondportion to pass through. In this example, mirror arrangement 1105 doesnot have any other mirrors, other than splitter mirror 1110, firstmirror 1115, second mirror 1120, and third mirror 1125, which alsoreduces the number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 tobe smaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditional biopticbarcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 12A and 12B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with a fourth example imaging assembly 100C and a tenthexample set of optical components 1200 positioned within interior region25 of housing 20 and a decode module 300 communicatively coupled toimaging assembly 100C and configured to decode a barcode captured in animage by imaging assembly 100C. Imaging assembly 100C includes a printedcircuit board 105C with a single image sensor 110C and has a primaryfield-of-view 115C. Printed circuit board 105C is aligned at an acuteangle to upper surface 35 and printed circuit board 105C and imagesensor 110C are arranged to direct primary field-of-view 115C at theacute angle to upper surface 35 and towards upper housing portion 45. Inthis example, bioptic barcode reader 10 does not have any other imagingassembly communicatively coupled to decode module 300 and used toprocess images for decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly 100C,which reduces the number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader10 to be smaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditionalbioptic barcode readers.

Optical components 1200 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115C and include a mirror arrangement 1205 with a splitter mirror 1210,a first mirror 1215, and a second mirror 1220. Splitter mirror 1210 ispositioned directly in a first path P35 of a first portion of primaryfield-of-view 115C and is configured to split primary field-of-view 115Calong a horizontal axis and redirect the first portion of primaryfield-of-view 115C from first path P35 to a second path P36 towardsfirst mirror 1215. Splitter mirror 1210 can be positioned to splitprimary field-of-view 115C in any proportion desired. For example,primary field-of-view 115C can be split such that the first and secondportions of primary field-of-view 115C are equal, the first portion is0-25% larger than the second portion, or the second portion is 0-25%larger than the first portion, depending on the configuration anddesired use of bioptic barcode reader 10. Second mirror 1220 ispositioned directly in a third path P37 of the second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115C and is configured to redirect the second portionthrough generally upright window 50. The second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115C that is redirected from second mirror 1220 throughgenerally upright window 50 can fill 50-100% of generally upright window50 and, preferably, an area of the second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115C redirected through generally upright window 50, takenalong a plane of generally upright window 50, is greater than an area ofgenerally upright window 50 such that generally upright window 50 cropsor reduces the second portion of primary field-of-view 115C and allowsonly a portion of the second portion to pass through. First mirror 1215is positioned directly in a second path P36 of a first portion ofprimary field-of-view 115C and is configured to redirect the firstportion through generally horizontal window 40. The first portion ofprimary field-of-view 115C that is redirected from first mirror 1215through generally horizontal window 40 can fill 50-100% of generallyhorizontal window 40 and, preferably, an area of the first portion ofprimary field-of-view 115C redirected through generally horizontalwindow 40, taken along a plane of generally horizontal window 40, isgreater than an area of generally horizontal window 40 such thatgenerally horizontal window 40 crops or reduces the first portion ofprimary field-of-view 115C and allows only a portion of the firstportion to pass through. For example, width W3 of generally horizontalwindow 40 could be greater than length L2 of generally horizontal window40 such that a width of the first portion of primary field-of-view 115Callowed to pass through generally horizontal window 40 is greater than alength of the first portion of primary field-of-view 115C allowed topass through generally horizontal window 40. In this example, mirrorarrangement 1205 does not have any other mirrors, other than splittermirror 1210, first mirror 1215, and second mirror 1220, which alsoreduces the number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 tobe smaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditional biopticbarcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 13A and 13B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with fourth example imaging assembly 100C described aboveand an eleventh example set of optical components 1300 positioned withininterior region 25 of housing 20 and decode module 300 communicativelycoupled to imaging assembly 100C and configured to decode a barcodecaptured in an image by imaging assembly 100C. In this example, biopticbarcode reader 10 again does not have any other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to decode module 300 and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly 100C, which reducesthe number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to besmaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditional biopticbarcode readers.

Optical components 1300 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115C and include a mirror arrangement 1305 with a splitter mirror 1310,a first mirror 1315, a second mirror 1320, and a third mirror 1325.Splitter mirror 1310 is positioned directly in a first path P38 of afirst portion of primary field-of-view 115C and is configured to splitprimary field-of-view 115C along a horizontal axis, split the firstportion of primary field-of-view 115C into a first subfield 1330 and asecond subfield 1335, redirect first subfield 1330 from first path P38to a second path P39 towards second mirror 1320, and redirect secondsubfield 1335 from first path P38 to a third path P40 towards thirdmirror 1325. In this example, splitter mirror 1310 is a concave splittermirror having first and second planar mirrors 1312A, 1312B that arearranged such that second path P39 from first planar mirror 1312A andthird path P40 from second planar mirror 1312B cross. Having splittermirror 1310 in a concave configuration increases the internal pathlength between image sensor 110C and generally horizontal window 40,which allows for better barcode reading range and minimizesfield-of-view twist, which enables more usable field-of-view throughgenerally horizontal window 40. Alternatively, splitter mirror 1310could be a convex splitter mirror that is arranged such that second pathP39 from first planar mirror 1312A and third path P40 from second planarmirror 1312B diverge. Splitter mirror 1310 can be positioned to splitprimary field-of-view 115C in any proportion desired. For example,primary field-of-view 115C can be split such that the first and secondportions of primary field-of-view 115C are equal, the first portion is0-25% larger than the second portion, or the second portion is 0-25%larger than the first portion, depending on the configuration anddesired use of bioptic barcode reader 10.

Second mirror 1320 is positioned directly in second path P39 and isconfigured to redirect first subfield 1330 redirected from splittermirror 1310 through generally horizontal window 40 and third mirror 1325is positioned direct in third path P40 and is configured to redirectsecond subfield 1335 redirected from splitter mirror 1310 throughgenerally horizontal window 40. First subfield 1330 redirected fromsecond mirror 1320 through generally horizontal window 40 and secondsubfield 1335 redirected from third mirror 1325 through generallyhorizontal window 40 together can fill 50-100% of generally horizontalwindow 40. First mirror 1315 is positioned directly in a fourth path P41of a second portion of primary field-of-view 115C and is configured toredirect the second portion through generally upright window 50. Thesecond portion of primary field-of-view 115C that is redirected fromfirst mirror 1315 through generally upright window 50 can fill 50-100%of generally upright window 50 and, preferably, an area of the secondportion of primary field-of-view 115C redirected through generallyupright window 50, taken along a plane of generally upright window 50,is greater than an area of generally upright window 50 such thatgenerally upright window 50 crops or reduces the second portion ofprimary field-of-view 115C and allows only a portion of the secondportion to pass through. For example, width W2 of generally uprightwindow 50 could be greater than length/height H3 of generally uprightwindow 50 such that a width of the second portion of primaryfield-of-view 115C allowed to pass through generally upright window 50is greater than a length of the second portion of primary field-of-view115C allowed to pass through generally upright window 50. In thisexample, mirror arrangement 1305 does not have any other mirrors, otherthan splitter mirror 1310, first mirror 1315, second mirror 1320, andthird mirror 1325, which also reduces the number of components andallows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and be manufactured lessexpensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

Referring to FIGS. 14A and 14B, bioptic barcode reader 10 of FIG. 1 isillustrated with fourth example imaging assembly 100C described aboveand a twelfth example set of optical components 1400 positioned withininterior region 25 of housing 20 and decode module 300 communicativelycoupled to imaging assembly 100C and configured to decode a barcodecaptured in an image by imaging assembly 100C. In this example, biopticbarcode reader 10 again does not have any other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to decode module 300 and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia, other than imaging assembly 100C, which reducesthe number of components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to besmaller and be manufactured less expensively than traditional biopticbarcode readers.

Optical components 1400 are configured to divide primary field-of-view115C and include a mirror arrangement 1405 with a splitter mirror 1410,a first mirror 1415, a second mirror 1420, and a third mirror 1425.Splitter mirror 1410 is positioned directly in a first path P42 of afirst portion of primary field-of-view 115C and is configured to splitprimary field-of-view 115C along a horizontal axis, split the firstportion of primary field-of-view 115C into a first subfield 1430 and asecond subfield 1435, redirect first subfield 1430 from first path P42to a second path P43 towards second mirror 1420, and redirect secondsubfield 1435 from first path P42 to a third path P44 towards thirdmirror 1425. In this example, splitter mirror 1410 is a concave splittermirror having first and second planar mirrors 1412A, 1412B that arearranged such that second path P43 from first planar mirror 1412A andthird path P44 from second planar mirror 1412B cross. Having splittermirror 1410 in a concave configuration increases the internal pathlength between image sensor 110C and generally horizontal window 40,which allows for better barcode reading range and minimizesfield-of-view twist, which enables more usable field-of-view throughgenerally horizontal window 40. Alternatively, splitter mirror 1410could be a convex splitter mirror that is arranged such that second pathP43 from first planar mirror 1412A and third path P44 from second planarmirror 1412B diverge. Splitter mirror 1410 can be positioned to splitprimary field-of-view 115C in any proportion desired. For example,primary field-of-view 115C can be split such that the first and secondportions of primary field-of-view 115C are equal, the first portion is0-25% larger than the second portion, or the second portion is 0-25%larger than the first portion, depending on the configuration anddesired use of bioptic barcode reader 10.

Second mirror 1420 is positioned directly in second path P43 and isconfigured to redirect first subfield 1430 redirected from splittermirror 1410 through generally horizontal window 40 and third mirror 1425is positioned direct in third path P44 and is configured to redirectsecond subfield 1435 redirected from splitter mirror 1410 throughgenerally horizontal window 40. First subfield 1430 redirected fromsecond mirror 1420 through generally horizontal window 40 and secondsubfield 1435 redirected from third mirror 1425 through generallyhorizontal window 40 together can fill 50-100% of generally horizontalwindow 40. First mirror 1415 is positioned directly in a fourth path P45of a second portion of primary field-of-view 115C and is configured toredirect the second portion through generally upright window 50. In thisexample, first mirror 1415 is a concave splitter mirror and isconfigured to split the second portion of primary field-of-view 115Cinto a third subfield 1440 and a fourth subfield 1445, redirect thirdsubfield 1440 through generally upright window 50, and redirect fourthsubfield 1445 through generally upright window 50. Third subfield 1440and fourth subfield 1445 together can fill 50-100% of generally uprightwindow 50. In this example, mirror arrangement 1405 does not have anyother mirrors, other than splitter mirror 1410, first mirror 1415,second mirror 1420, and third mirror 1425, which also reduces the numberof components and allows bioptic barcode reader 10 to be smaller and bemanufactured less expensively than traditional bioptic barcode readers.

In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have beendescribed. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates thatvarious modifications and changes can be made without departing from thescope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly,the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrativerather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intendedto be included within the scope of present teachings. Additionally, thedescribed embodiments/examples/implementations should not be interpretedas mutually exclusive, and should instead be understood as potentiallycombinable if such combinations are permissive in any way. In otherwords, any feature disclosed in any of the aforementionedembodiments/examples/implementations may be included in any of the otheraforementioned embodiments/examples/implementations. Moreover, no stepsof any method disclosed herein shall be understood to have any specificorder unless it is expressly stated that no other order is possible orrequired by the remaining steps of the respective method. Also, at leastsome of the figures may or may not be drawn to scale.

The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) thatmay cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all the claims. The legal scope of theproperty right is defined solely by the appended claims including anyamendments made during the pendency of this application and allequivalents of those claims as issued.

Moreover, in this document, relational terms such as first and second,top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish oneentity or action from another entity or action without necessarilyrequiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between suchentities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has”,“having,” “includes”, “including,” “contains”, “containing” or any othervariation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, suchthat a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has,includes, contains a list of elements does not include only thoseelements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherentto such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by“comprises . . . a”, “has . . . a”, “includes . . . a”, “contains . . .a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence ofadditional identical elements in the process, method, article, orapparatus that comprises, has, includes, contains the element. The terms“a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless explicitly statedotherwise herein. The terms “substantially”, “essentially”,“approximately”, “about” or any other version thereof, are defined asbeing close to as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and inone non-limiting embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, inanother embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1% and inanother embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled” as used herein isdefined as connected, although not necessarily directly and notnecessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is “configured” ina certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also beconfigured in ways that are not listed.

It will be appreciated that some embodiments may be comprised of one ormore generic or specialized processors (or “processing devices”) such asmicroprocessors, digital signal processors, customized processors andfield programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and unique stored programinstructions (including both software and firmware) that control the oneor more processors to implement, in conjunction with certainnon-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the functions of themethod and/or apparatus described herein. Alternatively, some or allfunctions could be implemented by a state machine that has no storedprogram instructions, or in one or more application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), in which each function or some combinations of certainof the functions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, acombination of the two approaches could be used.

Moreover, an embodiment can be implemented as a computer-readablestorage medium having computer readable code stored thereon forprogramming a computer (e.g., comprising a processor) to perform amethod as described and claimed herein. Examples of suchcomputer-readable storage mediums include, but are not limited to, ahard disk, a CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storagedevice, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Programmable Read OnlyMemory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an EEPROM(Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) and a Flashmemory. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill,notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choicesmotivated by, for example, available time, current technology, andeconomic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principlesdisclosed herein will be readily capable of generating such softwareinstructions and programs and ICs with minimal experimentation.

The patent claims at the end of this patent application are not intendedto be construed under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless traditionalmeans-plus-function language is expressly recited, such as “means for”or “step for” language being explicitly recited in the claim(s).

The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain thenature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scopeor meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A bioptic barcode reader having a productscanning region, the bioptic barcode reader comprising: a housing havinga lower housing portion with an upper surface facing the productscanning region and an upper housing portion extending above the lowerhousing portion; an imaging assembly having a primary field-of-view; agenerally horizontal window positioned at the upper surface of the lowerhousing portion, the generally horizontal window configured to allow afirst light to pass between the product scanning region and an interiorregion of the housing; a generally upright window positioned in theupper housing portion, the generally upright window configured to allowa second light to pass between the product scanning region and theinterior region of the housing; and a set of optical componentspositioned within the interior region of the housing and configured todivide the primary field-of-view of the imaging assembly; wherein thehousing has a width that is greater than or equal to 5 inches and lessthan or equal to 7 inches; the lower housing portion has a height thatis greater than or equal to 3 inches; the upper housing portion has aheight that is greater than or equal to 4 inches and less than or equalto 6 inches; and the upper surface of the lower housing portion has alength between a proximal edge adjacent the upper housing portion to adistal edge, opposite the proximal edge, that is greater than or equalto 6 inches and less than or equal to 8 inches.
 2. The bioptic barcodereader of claim 1, wherein the generally upright window has a heightthat is greater than or equal to 3½ inches and less than or equal to 6inches and a width that is greater than or equal to 4 inches and lessthan or equal to 7 inches.
 3. The bioptic barcode reader of claim 1,wherein the generally horizontal window has a width that is greater thanor equal to 3½ inches and less than or equal to 6 inches and the uppersurface of the lower housing portion has a width that is greater than orequal to 5 inches and less than or equal to 7 inches.
 4. The biopticbarcode reader of claim 3, wherein the generally horizontal window has alength that is greater than or equal to 3½ inches and less than or equalto 6 inches.
 5. The bioptic barcode reader of claim 1, wherein: theupper surface has a proximal edge adjacent the upper portion and adistal edge opposite the proximal edge; the imaging assembly includes aprinted circuit board with a single image sensor, the printed circuitboard aligned generally perpendicular to the upper surface and theprinted circuit board and the image sensor arranged to direct theprimary field-of-view generally parallel to the upper surface andtowards the distal edge of the upper surface; the bioptic barcode readerincludes a decode module communicatively coupled to the imaging assemblyand configured to decode a barcode captured in an image by the imagingassembly; the set of optical components includes a mirror arrangementpositioned within the interior region, the mirror arrangement includinga splitter mirror, a first mirror, and a second mirror; the splittermirror is positioned directly in a first path of a first portion of theprimary field-of-view and is configured to split the primaryfield-of-view along a horizontal axis and redirect the first portion ofthe primary field-of-view from the first path to a second path towardsthe second mirror; the first mirror is positioned directly in a thirdpath of a second portion of the primary field-of-view and is configuredto redirect the second portion through the generally horizontal window;the second mirror is positioned directly in the second path and isconfigured to redirect the first portion through the generally uprightwindow; and the bioptic barcode reader has no other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to the decode module and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia.
 6. The bioptic barcode reader of claim 5, whereinthe mirror arrangement has no other mirrors.
 7. The bioptic barcodereader of claim 1, wherein: the upper surface has a proximal edgeadjacent the upper portion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge;the imaging assembly includes a printed circuit board with a singleimage sensor, the printed circuit board aligned generally perpendicularto the upper surface and the printed circuit board and the image sensorarranged to direct the primary field-of-view generally parallel to theupper surface and towards the distal edge of the upper surface; thebioptic barcode reader includes a decode module communicatively coupledto the imaging assembly and configured to decode a barcode captured inan image by the imaging assembly; the set of optical components includesa mirror arrangement positioned within the interior region, the mirrorarrangement including a splitter mirror, a first mirror, a secondmirror, and a third mirror; the splitter mirror is positioned directlyin a first path of a first portion of the primary field-of-view and isconfigured to: split the primary field-of-view along a horizontal axis;split the first portion of the primary field-of-view into a firstsubfield and a second subfield; redirect the first subfield along secondpath towards the second mirror; and redirect the second subfield along athird path towards the third mirror; the first mirror is positioneddirectly in a fourth path of a second portion of the primaryfield-of-view and is configured to redirect the second portion throughthe generally horizontal window; the second mirror is positioneddirectly in the second path and is configured to redirect the firstsubfield through the generally upright window; the third mirror ispositioned directly in the third path and is configured to redirect thesecond subfield through the generally upright window; and the biopticbarcode reader has no other imaging assembly communicatively coupled tothe decode module and used to process images for decoding indicia. 8.The bioptic barcode reader of claim 7, wherein the splitter mirror is aconcave splitter mirror having two planar mirrors and the second pathand the third path cross.
 9. The bioptic barcode reader of claim 8,wherein the first mirror is a concave splitter mirror and is configuredto: split the second portion of the primary field-of-view into a thirdsubfield and a fourth subfield; redirect the third subfield through thegenerally horizontal window; and redirect the fourth subfield throughthe generally horizontal window.
 10. The bioptic barcode reader of claim7, wherein the splitter mirror is a convex splitter mirror having twoplanar mirrors and the second path and the third path diverge.
 11. Thebioptic barcode reader of claim 10, wherein the first mirror is aconcave splitter mirror and is configured to: split the second portionof the primary field-of-view into a third subfield and a fourthsubfield; redirect the third subfield through the generally horizontalwindow; and redirect the fourth subfield through the generallyhorizontal window.
 12. The bioptic barcode reader of claim 7, whereinthe mirror arrangement has no other mirrors.
 13. The bioptic barcodereader of claim 1, wherein: the upper surface has a proximal edgeadjacent the upper portion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge;the imaging assembly includes a printed circuit board with a singleimage sensor, the printed circuit board aligned generally horizontal tothe upper surface and the printed circuit board and the image sensorarranged to direct the primary field-of-view generally perpendicular tothe upper surface and towards the upper housing portion; the biopticbarcode reader includes a decode module communicatively coupled to theimaging assembly and configured to decode a barcode captured in an imageby the imaging assembly; the set of optical components includes a mirrorarrangement positioned within the interior region, the mirrorarrangement including a splitter mirror, a first mirror, and a secondmirror; the splitter mirror is positioned directly in a first path of afirst portion of the primary field-of-view and is configured to splitthe primary field-of-view along a horizontal axis and redirect the firstportion of the primary field-of-view from the first path to a secondpath towards the first mirror; the second mirror is positioned directlyin a third path of a second portion of the primary field-of-view and isconfigured to redirect the second portion through the generally uprightwindow; the first mirror is positioned directly in the second path andis configured to redirect the first portion through the generallyhorizontal window; and the bioptic barcode reader has no other imagingassembly communicatively coupled to the decode module and used toprocess images for decoding indicia.
 14. The bioptic barcode reader ofclaim 13, wherein the mirror arrangement has no other mirrors.
 15. Thebioptic barcode reader of claim 1, wherein: the upper surface has aproximal edge adjacent the upper portion and a distal edge opposite theproximal edge; the imaging assembly includes a printed circuit boardwith a single image sensor, the printed circuit board aligned generallyhorizontal to the upper surface and the printed circuit board and theimage sensor arranged to direct the primary field-of-view generallyperpendicular to the upper surface and towards the upper housingportion; the bioptic barcode reader includes a decode modulecommunicatively coupled to the imaging assembly and configured to decodea barcode captured in an image by the imaging assembly; the set ofoptical components includes a mirror arrangement positioned within theinterior region, the mirror arrangement including a splitter mirror, afirst mirror, a second mirror, and a third mirror; the splitter mirroris positioned directly in a first path of a first portion of the primaryfield-of-view and is configured to: split the primary field-of-viewalong a horizontal axis; split the first portion of the primaryfield-of-view into a first subfield and a second subfield; redirect thefirst subfield along a second path towards the second mirror; andredirect the second subfield along a third path towards the thirdmirror; the first mirror is positioned directly in a fourth path of asecond portion of the primary field-of-view and is configured toredirect the second portion through the generally upright window; thesecond mirror is positioned directly in the second path and isconfigured to redirect the first subfield through the generallyhorizontal window; the third mirror is positioned directly in the thirdpath and is configured to redirect the second subfield through thegenerally horizontal window; and the bioptic barcode reader has no otherimaging assembly communicatively coupled to the decode module and usedto process images for decoding indicia.
 16. The bioptic barcode readerof claim 15, wherein the mirror arrangement has no other mirrors. 17.The bioptic barcode reader of claim 1, wherein: the upper surface havinga proximal edge adjacent the upper portion and a distal edge oppositethe proximal edge; the imaging assembly includes a printed circuit boardwith a single image sensor, the printed circuit board aligned generallyperpendicular to the upper surface and the printed circuit board and theimage sensor arranged to direct the primary field-of-view generallyparallel to the proximal edge of the upper surface; the bioptic barcodereader includes a decode module communicatively coupled to the imagingassembly and configured to decode a barcode captured in an image by theimaging assembly; the set of optical components includes a mirrorarrangement positioned within the interior region, the mirrorarrangement including a splitter mirror, a first mirror, a secondmirror, and a third mirror; the splitter mirror is positioned directlyin a first path of a first portion of the primary field-of-view and isconfigured to split the primary field-of-view along a vertical axis andredirect the first portion of the primary field-of-view from the firstpath to a second path towards the third mirror; the first mirror ispositioned directly in a third path of a second portion of the primaryfield-of-view and is configured to redirect the second portion from thethird path to a fourth path towards the second mirror; the second mirroris positioned directly in the fourth path and is configured to redirectthe second portion through the generally upright window; the thirdmirror is positioned directly in the second path and is configured toredirect the first portion through the generally horizontal window; andthe bioptic barcode reader has no other imaging assembly communicativelycoupled to the decode module and used to process images for decodingindicia.
 18. The bioptic barcode reader of claim 17, wherein the mirrorarrangement has no other mirrors.
 19. The bioptic barcode reader ofclaim 1, wherein: the upper surface has a proximal edge adjacent theupper portion and a distal edge opposite the proximal edge; the imagingassembly includes a printed circuit board with a single image sensor,the printed circuit board aligned at an acute angle to the upper surfaceand the printed circuit board and the image sensor arranged to directthe primary field-of-view at the acute angle to the upper surface andtowards the upper housing portion; the bioptic barcode reader includes adecode module communicatively coupled to the imaging assembly andconfigured to decode a barcode captured in an image by the imagingassembly; the set of optical components includes a mirror arrangementpositioned within the interior region, the mirror arrangement includinga splitter mirror, a first mirror, and a second mirror; the splittermirror is positioned directly in a first path of a first portion of theprimary field-of-view and is configured to split the primaryfield-of-view along a horizontal axis and redirect the first portion ofthe primary field-of-view from the first path to a second path towardsthe first mirror; the second mirror is positioned directly in a thirdpath of a second portion of the primary field-of-view and is configuredto redirect the second portion through the generally upright window; thefirst mirror is positioned directly in the second path and is configuredto redirect the first portion through the generally horizontal window;and the bioptic barcode reader has no other imaging assemblycommunicatively coupled to the decode module and used to process imagesfor decoding indicia.
 20. The bioptic barcode reader of claim 19,wherein the mirror arrangement has no other mirrors.
 21. The biopticbarcode reader of claim 1, wherein: the upper surface has a proximaledge adjacent the upper portion and a distal edge opposite the proximaledge; the imaging assembly includes a printed circuit board with asingle image sensor, the printed circuit board aligned at an acute angleto the upper surface and the printed circuit board and the image sensorarranged to direct the primary field-of-view at the acute angle to theupper surface and towards the upper housing portion; the bioptic barcodereader includes a decode module communicatively coupled to the imagingassembly and configured to decode a barcode captured in an image by theimaging assembly; the set of optical components includes a mirrorarrangement positioned within the interior region, the mirrorarrangement including a splitter mirror, a first mirror, a secondmirror, and a third mirror; the splitter mirror is positioned directlyin a first path of a first portion of the primary field-of-view and isconfigured to: split the primary field-of-view along a horizontal axis;split the first portion of the primary field-of-view into a firstsubfield and a second subfield; redirect the first subfield along asecond path towards the second mirror; and redirect the second subfieldalong a third path towards the third mirror; the first mirror ispositioned directly in a fourth path of a second portion of the primaryfield-of-view and is configured to redirect the second portion throughthe generally upright window; the second mirror is positioned directlyin the second path and is configured to redirect the first subfieldthrough the generally horizontal window; the third mirror is positioneddirectly in the third path and is configured to redirect the secondsubfield through the generally horizontal window; and the biopticbarcode reader has no other imaging assembly communicatively coupled tothe decode module and used to process images for decoding indicia. 22.The bioptic barcode reader of claim 21, wherein the splitter mirror is aconcave splitter mirror having two planar mirrors and the second pathand the third path cross.